.
The ages of the current team - Ella: 10. Richie West: 13; Cal West: 12; Jessica Jordan: 13. Lian Harper: 14. Marie Kent: 10; La'gaan Jr.: 14.
The ages of the other children - Gio: 8. CJ West: 10; Abbey and Tori West: 7.Carly Kent: 5. Olivia Queen: 8. Amistad: 8.
The Graysons
The kids want to go to the circus.
Haly's is in Blüdhaven for a week. There have been commercials playing on TV for almost a month to play up the hype. Ella and Gio always turn up the volume and ooh and ah over the acts advertised in the commercials.
They have been begging Dick and Zee for the chance to see the circus. The two siblings have tried every trick in their arsenal for a "yes". They have kept their bedrooms and bathroom clean and try to help out around the house more than usual. Both Ella and Gio have been on their best behavior. It would be kind of endearing if it weren't so obvious they're only acting this way to get what they want.
Dick can tell that it's not just the Grayson children who want to go to the circus, however. Zee never seems to mind the kids' antics and always manages to smile fondly whenever the idea is mentioned. In the two and a half years that have passed since they lost Remi, Zee has encouraged everyone to do things together as a family. Nightwing knows this has helped them all heal from their loss and has never questioned it before.
On the other hand, Dick doesn't particularly want to go to Haly's. He hasn't set foot near a circus save for that team mission so many years ago. But that particular experience was very different; it was for a good purpose. A trip to the circus for family bonding is an entirely different thing.
Dick hasn't told his children about his childhood days as an acrobat with Haly's. It's not the kind of thing he wants engrained in Gio and Ella's minds. Nightwing thinks he has always done a pretty good job of keeping the kids as innocent and naïve about the nastier aspects of the world. It's not like he wants them to be too sheltered, but they don't need to know everything yet. There will be time for that when they're older.
He just doesn't think that a nine and a half-year-old and a seven and a half-year-old are ready to know about these kinds of things yet. If he tells them the real reason he doesn't want to take them to the circus, he'd be taking what what's left of their innocence. And because they have already lost a sibling, the acrobat wants them to hang onto whatever childish perceptions they have for as long as possible.
The morning of the last day Haly's is going to be in town arrives. The Graysons are all sitting at the table having breakfast. Most of them are, anyway. Ella is sulking and hasn't taken a bite of her cereal yet. "You'd better eat that before it gets soggy," Dick warns his daughter. The girl's scowl deepens.
"Are we going to the circus?" Ella demands.
"That has nothing to do with cereal," Dick replies, frowning. "Eat your breakfast, Ella."
Dick feels Zee's gaze fall on him. He guesses that she might try to explain to the kids that he doesn't want to go to the circus because of the things that have happened in his life. Well, going to the circus for one afternoon is hardly going to ruin his life, so Dick nods before his wife can say anything. "Only if you eat your cereal."
From the corner of his eye, Dick sees his wife's expression grow curious. The children cheer and Ella wolfs down her cereal in record time. Then she races upstairs with Gio to get ready.
When they're alone, Zee reaches out for his hand. "Are you sure about this?" Zatanna asks. The gymnast can hear the concern in his wife's voice. "As much as I like to do things as a family, we don't have to go to the circus. The kids will get over it."
Dick smiles and places his other hand on top of Zatanna's. "I'm sure," he replies. "I can suck it up for one afternoon. To me, that's better than trying to explain to them why I don't want to go."
"If you're sure…" Zatanna says. Nightwing nods and the magician smiles at him. "I'm glad you can do this, Dick," she adds.
The next few hours are a blur of getting everyone ready. On the way to the show, Gio and Ella chatter excitedly about the types of acts they want to see. Gio says he hopes the clowns aren't too scary, and Ella nods in agreement. Having seen the Joker up close, Dick echoes this thought. Clowns are scary.
Ella lets out an amazed gasp as she spots the red and white striped tent when Dick guides the car off of the freeway. She giggles and so does her brother. Dick takes a deep breath to steady himself. He reminds himself that they are here for a good reason. His children are happy to be here, and that is what matters.
The children race ahead through the parking lot towards the tent's entrance. Dick and Zatanna trail behind them. Both Grayson parents smile fondly at their offspring. Then the dark haired heroine threads her fingers through Dick's. The gymnast looks down at his wife and finds that she's concerned again.
"Are you going to be okay?" Zee asks quietly.
"Cross my heart," Dick replies.
And this is enough for Zatanna. She doesn't say another word about the matter.
The Graysons find good seats close to the front of the center ring. They'll be able to see everything. Ella and Gio are pointing out various props to each other and speculating about what they might be used for. On Dick's other side, Zatanna is holding his hand again. She rests her head on his shoulder. The acrobat greatly appreciates his wife's show of solidarity.
The lights go out and a spotlight focuses on the center ring. The ring master appears and announces some of the acts. Nightwing claps along with the rest of the audience when the various acts end, but mostly he watches Gio and Ella watching the show. Both Grayson children are mesmerized by the performances, but Ella is particularly engrossed by the acrobats.
He knows his daughter, and he knows what this means.
She wants to be Robin.
0o0o0o0
Ella plays the waiting game remarkably well for someone her age. For months after the Graysons' visit to the circus, she doesn't say a word about wanting to be Robin. Zee tells him that he must be wrong about Ella's desire to suit up, but Dick stubbornly insists that he's right. To him, all the pieces add up.
The oldest Grayson child has been working very hard at her gymnastics. She's been taking lessons for a couple of years now, but only for fun. Dick has never seen Ella put in so much effort to her sport. She does extra practice on her own outside of lessons and even asks him to critique her.
Dick has also noticed that his daughter appears to be trying to be more responsible. Ella keeps her room cleaner and does her chores without being nagged. And even though she and Gio have always been close, Nightwing observes Ella being even nicer to her brother and letting him have his way without arguing.
It's been about six months since the circus. Ella has recently turned ten and Gio is a few weeks shy of being eight. Time really is flying, and not just for the Graysons. Dick has been talking to Wally. According to the Flash, thirteen-year-old Richie West now wants to be Kid Flash. Wally and Artemis have agreed to this, and they want to reopen the mountain base as an HQ for the young would-be heroes.
So Dick's not surprised when Ella announces she does want to be Robin one night at dinner. The acrobat immediately shoots Zee an "I told you so" look. Then he looks at his daughter and says, "No."
As he expected, Ella protests right away. "Why not?" she demands. "Everyone else gets to! Richie and Cal and Lian and Marie are all going to be on the new team. Marie is younger than me and I'm way more responsible than she is! I've been doing gymnastics for years and between you and Aunt Artemis, I know I could learn to fight."
Nightwing looks over at his magician wife. Zee looks as if she may seriously be considering Ella's demand to take up the family business.
"Marie is only a month younger than you," Dick points out. Ella glares at him in a way that suggests that he's completely missing the point. He adds, "And it doesn't matter who else is going to be on the team. None of them are my kids."
Zatanna speaks up. "Maybe we should talk about this, Dick," the heroine suggests.
He says the thing that's been on his mind since he figured Ella wants to be Robin. "I've already buried one child."
"That's not fair!" Ella bursts out. "What happened to Remi wasn't my fault. It wasn't anyone's fault. So when Gio comes to you in a few years and wants to call himself Zatara and use magic to fight crime, are you going to tell him no, too?"
"Leave me out of this," Gio mumbles.
Dick doesn't have an answer. Ella just glares at him for a long moment and then stomps back upstairs. He hears the door to her room slam and gets up, but Zatanna puts a hand on his arm.
"Give her some space." It's not a request.
The remaining Graysons finish their dinner in silence. When Gio finishes, Nightwing sees his wife smile at the boy before she quietly asks him to go upstairs and do his reading homework.
The acrobat knows what this means. She wants to talk to him alone. Dick knows they're probably going to have a fight within the next few minutes, so he starts to gather up the dirty dishes and carries them to the sink. He's found that having a distraction during these moments can be a good thing.
He's busy scrubbing plates when he hears Zee get up from her seat at the table. "Dick," she says, "I know why you're worried. I completely understand why you feel the way you do. But I'm going to offer up a counterpoint. So hear me out, okay?"
Dick nods once and keeps concentrating on the dishes. Zatanna takes a deep breath as if she's gathering up her thoughts before choosing her words very carefully. "I was a daughter with an overprotective father, too. And I don't think I need to remind you that I took every opportunity to get away from him that I could. Like the day we met, for example. Does that ring a bell?"
Dick turns the water off. He looks at his wife. There's a small smile on her lips as she reminisces. Then she says, "Of course, had I known what Dad was going to sacrifice just a few weeks later, I might not have done it, but that's not the point. My point is that I don't want Ella to want to get away from us."
"And you think that's what's going to happen if we don't let her run around in spandex fighting insane criminals," Nightwing replies flatly.
Zee bobs her head. "Eventually, yes. She wants to prove herself and someday she's going to figure out a way to do it. At least this way, we can keep a close eye on her and monitor her progress."
He's silent. Then he feels Zee's arm slide around his waist and she leans against him. "I know losing Remi was hard, Dick," she murmurs. "I completely fell apart after. So I get why you don't want to see Ella get hurt or…or worse. But she's not Remi. It's completely different. Ella will be okay."
"Artemis is going to be the trainer?" Dick asks. Zee nods. Dick lets out a sigh. "I guess she'd be the best person for the job, growing up in the Shadows and all…" Zatanna nods again. He knows that she knows he's about to give in. "Not Blüdhaven," Dick says firmly. "Missions with the team, yes. But there's no way I'm letting her loose in Blüdhaven."
Zee looks up at him with a smile. "That seems fair to me," the heroine states. "We should go talk to Ella." She releases her hold on his waist and takes him by the hand. He allows Zee to lead him upstairs to Ella's room.
Ella's laying on her bed, glaring up at the ceiling. Dick has a sudden vision of his daughter as an angry sixteen-year-old doing this exact same thing. Nightwing's definitely not fond of this idea.
"Your dad and I have been talking," Zatanna begins as she crosses the room. She perches on the edge of Ella's bed and motions for Dick to join her. He does. "We've decided that you can be Robin-" Ella's face lights up and she lets out a squeal. Zatanna holds up a hand and continues, "You can be Robin on the team. Not here in Blüdhaven. We're in total agreement that it's just too dangerous for a girl your age. So that's the deal. Take it or leave it."
"I'll take it," Ella says immediately. "I'll take it."
0o0o0o0
There's a lot of coordinating done with the other League members whose children want to form the new team. In the end, it is decided that Mt. Justice will be reopened. Artemis will take on Black Canary's former post as trainer. Dick will be the one to assign the missions, just like Batman did so many years before.
It's a good group of kids, all in all. Ella, Marie, Richie, Cal, Lian, Jessica Jordan, and La'gaan Jr. make up the team. All are wide eyed and eager to be taking up their family legacies. He gives them a speech about what will be expected of them and makes it clear that this life they have chosen is not about fun and games. Every one of them seems to be taking this seriously so far, which makes Dick glad.
He can only hope that everything turns out alright in the end.